The Baltimore Ravens secondary faced a bit of a lag to start to the 2024 season but by the second half of the season, the Ravens’ pass defense was firing on all cylinders. One of the big contributors was 2024 first-round draft choice Nate Wiggins, who was used sparingly in the first month of the season before playing at least 75 percent of snaps in eight of the Ravens’ last nine games, including the postseason.
Wiggins got his hands on a lot of footballs, too. He logged 13 passes defensed in addition to a pick-six against the Cleveland Browns on a savvy Cover-2 rep in Week 18. In all, Wiggins played 770 defensive snaps of football as a rookie and looks to be the future for Baltimore’s cornerback room once Marlon Humphrey’s time with the team is up.
But Wiggins is aiming to be a lot better as a second-year player in 2025. His willingness to aim high and set lofty goals were recently put on display thanks to an appearance on “The Lounge Podcast”. Wiggins joined the show to dish on his rookie season, his goals for 2025, and much more — providing a fun snapshot into one of Baltimore’s young, promising talents. One particular quote stood out, with Wiggins essentially calling himself out for the plays he didn’t make as a rookie. When asked about what lessons he takes from his rookie season, Wiggins didn’t shy away from throwing himself under the bus.
“…catching the ball, too. I felt like I dropped five, six picks last year. I feel like I owe the team some picks. So this year, it’s all about catching the ball and looking it through.”
Talk about being your own biggest critic. Wiggins would go on to state his goal this year is to log 10 turnovers, be it from interceptions or forced fumbles. What’s that saying about shooting for the moon and landing amongst the stars, again?
Wiggins should expect to make almost any play on the field, that’s part of the DNA of a successful player at the highest level. But to be fair to him, five or six dropped picks may be a few yards over the ‘hyper-critical’ goal line. In review of Wiggins’ interception and 13 passes defensed last season, he had two definite drops.
- The first came against Mitchell Trubisky late in the fourth quarter of a 35-10 blowout win over the Bills. Wiggins, playing a flat zone, did well to sink underneath an outside release ‘go’ up the sideline with no underneath receiver to hold and put him in conflict. Wiggins fell into the throwing window and leapt to make the play before it bounced out of his hands.
- The second came late in the fourth quarter in a 10-point win over the Bucs. Wiggins again flashed in zone coverage, undercutting a boundary out route that flashed through his fingertips before falling harmlessly to the ground.
The rest of Wiggins’ passes broken up could have maybe been a play on the ball with a sharper angle or a touch more anticipation to trigger to the ball, but no egregious drops were on display. The Ravens, however, are likely to love the chip on his shoulder coming out of a rookie season that saw him handle some pretty tough assignments.
If the performance as a rookie is any indicator, Wiggins will get plenty more chances to finish plays at the catch point and turn the ball over in 2025. Just know he’s made it a big point of emphasis this season — even if it means being unfairly hard on himself in the process.
